Hot air balloons work because hot air rises. By heating the air inside the balloon with the burner, it becomes lighter than the cooler air on the outside. This causes the balloon to float upwards, as if it were in water. Obviously, if the air is allowed to cools, the balloon begins to slowly come down.

Do hot air balloons technically fly?
Hot air balloons work on a simple principle - hot air rises while cold air sinks. This means, the balloons fly because the hot air inside, weighs less than the air on the outside - causing it to float upwards.

How do hot air balloons stay in the sky?

Hot air rises because of gravity, and the dependence of air density on temperature, hot air is less dense than cold air at the same pressure. Hot air responds to the buoyant force, and floats upwards, Archimedes principle in action.

Hot air balloons work because hot air rises. By heating the air inside the balloon with the burner, it becomes lighter than the cooler air, on the outside. This causes the balloon to float upwards, as if it were in water.


The air in a typical balloon may be heated, to approximately 90 to 100 degrees C above ambient temperature.

Being a hot air balloon pilot is one of the most exciting, and interesting , jobs you could have.

Hot air balloons, don't have steering wheels, but hot air balloon pilots use the wind direction, and speed at different heights, in order to steer the balloon. Hot air balloon pilots control their ascent and descent but can't steer, the balloon in a different direction without changing altitude.

Hot air balloons stay in the air, for as long as they can keep their air hot, so as long as they have fuel to burn. Usually, a ride in a hot air balloon can last around four hours.


Why can't hot air balloons go to space?
Hot air balloons do not go into space, how ever,
A helium-filled balloon can float very high up into the atmosphere, however, it cannot float up into outer space. The air in Earth's atmosphere gets thinner the higher up you go. The balloon can only rise up, until the atmosphere surrounding it has the same weight as the helium in the balloon.

How do hot air balloons not melt?

In order to conserve the fabric the air in most balloons is kept around 250 F. The spot temperatures near the burner are tremendous, so fireproof fabrics like Nomex are used to avoid any sort of damage. Nomex can withstand temperatures up to 700 F without any kind of damage. Cotton, nylon, and polyester are common for the envelopes of hot-air balloons. Cotton, having a poor weight-to-strength ratio, is only favored for carnival “smoke” balloons. Although gas balloons have sometimes used rubberized cotton, modern sport gas balloons use urethane-coated nylon.

How many persons can go up in a balloon ? The most common model can welcome 1 pilot and 2 passengers. But the ones made for group flights have a bigger capacity: between 4 and 10 passengers. More than 32 passengers can fly in the biggest hot-air balloons ever made !



Can a hot air balloon fly in rain?

Balloons do not fly if there is rain or a storm forecast. This is because rain and storms usually bring with them stronger, more unpredictable winds, as well as unstable conditions. You may experience a sensation similar to turbulence if flying near a storm. Unlike other aircraft, balloons cannot fly away from storms.

Flying our hot air balloons in the morning ensure good use of the stable winds which are associated with colder air present just after sunrise. This means that flights launch right at sunrise at 4:30am to 6:00am depending on the time of year.

You may ask if hot air balloon flights are safe?

According to the Aviation Accident Database put out by the FAA, hot air ballooning is the safest form of all air travel and are rarely involved in aviation crashes. In fact, when hot air balloons are compared to other forms of transportation, hot air ballooning is even safer.

How many times can a hot air balloon be used?

The number of hours flown is similar to the odometer in a car. Depending upon how it is flown, most envelopes will last between 300 and 500 hours. Most pilots will fly a balloon between 30 and 75 times in a year, with each flight lasting roughly one hour.

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